A Cup of Tea: A Novel of 1917 (12 page)

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Authors: Amy Ephron

Tags: #Romance, #Historical, #New York (N.Y.), #General, #Literary, #Triangles (Interpersonal Relations), #Historical Fiction, #Upper Class Women, #Fiction

BOOK: A Cup of Tea: A Novel of 1917

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T
he piano music was sedate, a little bit romantic. None of the guests thought that it was odd that neither Philip or Rosemary had come down, they were often late for their own engagements. Teddy was in a fabulous mood. He had a new suit on and he couldn’t keep his feet from dancing. He turned to his wife, Sarah, and said, “I can’t believe you don’t know the Castle Walk.” He gestured to the piano player to start it up and set his champagne glass on the mantel and demonstrated a few steps, then took Sarah by the waist and started to “walk” her about the room. Always game, she picked it up at once. Everyone was laughing.
The music got a little louder. And then Rosemary opened the door to the parlor. Teddy and Sarah stopped dancing almost as if they were frozen in their spot. There was blood on Rosemary’s dress and where her hand touched the wall, was a stain of blood, as well. She stood there framed in the doorway. “Mr. Alsop,” she said, “Philip, will not be joining us for dinner.”

It was Jane who went upstairs and found his body lying on the floor.

Teddy had the presence of mind to telephone the authorities. The police came. There was an ambulance outside. They carried Philip down the stairs on a stretcher his face and body covered with a sheet. The police car or the ambulance car’s light was flashing making circles of red in the entranceway.

And then they took Rosemary away, as well. Jane insisted that they let her change her dress. She’d put her hair up. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back. There was a policeman on either side of her. She didn’t say a word, just went along with them as though she were an actor acting out a final scene.

E
leanor gave Tess a bath and put her in a velvet dress. She spent a long time brushing her own hair, put on a dress she’d never worn before, gray silk, a little low in front with lots of buttons. She made a simple dinner and set the table with what good china they had and lit two ivory tapers.

Josie had agreed to spend the night at a friend’s. She poured herself a glass of white wine and told Tess a lot of silly things about the way she thought their life would be. And when it got late, she thought a number of other things, that she was a fool for believing him. Of course, he’d never leave for her. That
he just hadn’t known how to tell Rosemary and tomorrow it would all be fine.
It would be fine, wouldn’t it?
In the distance, she heard the sound of a siren. She couldn’t bring herself to eat.

She put Tess in a nightgown and put her in her crib. She was cold. She looked at the clock. It was after ten. She took the silk shawl Philip had bought for her from a drawer and wrapped it around her shoulders. Outside, she heard a carriage. She ran to the window but it continued on. She shut the curtains to the room. She walked back to the baby’s crib and sang to her—

Hush little baby, don’t say a word
.

Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird
.

And if that mockingbird don’t sing
,

Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…

She realized that he wasn’t coming. It was only when she saw the papers two days later that she knew the reason why.

About the Author

A
MY
E
PHRON
is a novelist and screenwriter. She is the author of
One Sunday Morning, White Rose: Una Rosa Blanca, Cool Shades, Bruised Fruit
, and
Biodegradable Soap
, and lives with her family in Los Angeles.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Praise
for
A Cup of Tea

“With deceptive simplicity and appealingly uncluttered prose, Ephron weaves a morality tale that moves inexorably from mannered start to jarring finish.”

—
People

“A jewel…. This novel will plunge you into New York City in the turbulent year of 1917 and will keep you enthralled…. A page-turner from start to finish, Ms. Ephron’s spare novel has classic proportions.”

—
West Coast Review of Books

“A fine book.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“Compelling in its tightness but never lacking proper development, this is a sterling novel.”

—
Booklist

“Ephron excels in re-creating the aura of an era…. [A] careful evocation of the period.”

—
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A graceful writer with a good eye for period detail.”

—
Arizona Daily Star

“Ephron tells this sentimental tale simply and directly, with an old-fashioned touch that anchors it firmly in its time frame.”

—
Anniston Star

“This book most assuredly will be any woman’s cup of tea.”

—
Oklahoma City Oklahoman

“All of the period detail is correct right down to the last streetlamp…. Ephron gives us a rich situation and a carefully drawn setting.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“A little trinket of a story…with pretty period details and an appealing spareness to her prose.”

—
Baltimore Sun

“Ephron weaves a solid tale of love and betrayal.”

—
Hartford Courant

“This book is smooth and seamlessly written with a screenwriter’s sure hand for manipulation in short spaces.”

—
Los Angeles Times

Also by Amy Ephron

One Sunday Morning

White Rose: Una Rosa Blanca

Biodegradable Soap

Bruised Fruit

Cool Shades

Copyright

A CUP OF TEA
. Copyright © 1997 by Amy Ephron. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Digital Edition June 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195758-1

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